Teachers in Union City and South Hayward will likely go on strike Monday after contract talks broke down again Wednesday, officials said.

Both the New Haven Unified School District and New Haven Teachers Association said the work stoppage is imminent after no deal was reached during a roughly six-hour bargaining session Wednesday afternoon.

The two sides have been bargaining in fits and starts since December, but remain far apart on what a fair raise for the nearly 600 teachers, counselors, and nurses represented by the association would look like.

On Wednesday, the district presented its “last, best, and final offer” of a 3 percent one-time bonus for the current 2018-19 school year, and a 1 percent salary raise for the coming 2019-20 school year.

The district had been offering a 0 percent raise up until Wednesday’s session.

In response, the teachers union also put its “last, best” offer on the table, asking for a 10 percent raise over the same two year period.

The union had previously been asking for 20 percent over two years, plus $1,500 one-time retention stipends and a reduction in the number of salary steps to allow teachers to earn higher pay levels faster.

“It’s apparent that a stronger, more dedicated and committed message, which is part of the union conversation, has to be put in place, which of course is the strike,” he said.

He said the district’s offer doesn’t come close enough to show that teachers are valued, and noted that the one-time bonus of 3 percent wouldn’t count toward an increase in the retirement plan of union members.

“We’ve already kind of stated our case,” he said. “The ball is in their court to bring us back to the table.”

The strike, if it occurs, would be the first ever in the district’s history.

John Mattos, a district spokesperson, said Thursday morning the district moved to make a better offer to the teachers than its previous zero percent raise, but a “fundamental change” in the district’s financial situation would have to occur to prevent a strike.

“Absent a boon from the governor that gives us a ton of money that we can then raise our offer to meet the demands of the union, I think they’re going to go out on strike,” he said. The district is comprised of just over 11,000 students across 12 schools in Union City and South Hayward.

Mattos said the union’s initial ask of 20 percent over two years seemed like a “highball” number.

“Yes, they came down, they cut their demand in half to 10 percent, but 20 percent seemed fantastic. And I mean that in the fantasy sort of way,” he said. “I don’t know how anybody would be giving a 20 percent raise.”

Mattos said the union would need to lower its ask further before the district would change its offer.

He said the school district has already cut about $3.9 million to balance the current year’s budget, and is looking at cuts over $4 million in the coming year, so a “great, big ongoing” raise isn’t feasible.

“Every dollar we put on, would have to be cut on the back end. It’s a zero sum game on school budgets,” he said.

A neutral fact-finder’s report on the negotiations issued on May 6 recommended the district bump teachers pay by 3 percent retroactive to the middle of the current year, effectively giving them a 1.5 percent increase this year.

The fact-finder, Bonnie Prouty Castrey also recommend an additional 3 percent bump in 2019-20, but didn’t specify if it should be an ongoing raise or one-time bonus.

Ku’e Angeles said the district’s refusal to even meet the fact-finder’s recommendations has put them in a “difficult place” where they must strike.

Mattos has said previously the district’s value of its teachers is shown in their current pay, which is the highest on average in Alameda County public school districts. The average pay for a teacher in New Haven schools is $96,554. The lowest paid teachers there earn around $72,886 while the highest paid earns about $119,350.

However, the union notes they pay for their healthcare costs out of pocket, which cuts away from their salaries.

Julie Roche, a parent of two kids at Hillview Crest Elementary School in South Hayward, said she’s feeling “frustrated” by the failed bargaining, and thinks the district isn’t being “creative” enough in finding a way to bump teacher pay.

“I think they are playing hardball because they think this is the way to balance the budget, on the backs of the teachers,” she said.

“My hope as a parent is the teachers can get back to work with a proper contract in place so my kids can go back to school,” she said.

Roche said she plans to keep her kids home from school, and is organizing with other parents to bring food to school sites in support of striking teachers on Monday.

However, not all parents can keep their kids home or afford daycare for their kids, and the strike could put them in a bind, she said.

If the strike occurs, Mattos said “our schools will be open, they are going to be safe and orderly, but it will not be business as usual, that’s for sure.”

He said administration staff and some substitutes will be running a curriculum focused on “enrichment activities” for students who come to school.

The Kids First before and after school elementary program will remain open because it’s a fee-based program, but the Kids Zone after school program at some elementary and middle schools will be closed, Mattos said.

Parents with children in the preschool programs run by Kidango on New Haven school properties should contact Kidango for more information about their plans related to the strike, he said.

Mattos and Ku’e Angeles both said there’s still a slim chance of averting the strike with a last minute deal, but no additional bargaining sessions have been scheduled as of Thursday afternoon.

Joseph Geha is a multimedia journalist covering Fremont, Newark, and Union City for the Bay Area News Group, and is based at The Argus. His prior work has been seen in multiple Bay Area news outlets, including SF Weekly, as well as on KQED and KLIV radio. He is a graduate of California State University, East Bay (Hayward), and is a Fremont native. He is a lifelong Oakland Athletics fan.

A Mountain View entrepreneur who developed a device to help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, captured the $20,000 first prize in the 19th annual Big Bang! Business Competition at UC Davis.